Harry Potter and the Staff of Moses
by Altaire
Summary: Harry Potter. Eleven years old and ostracized by his "family". When they take things too far, what's a boy to do except run away?  Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I don't own. If you're not certain on it, just assume I don't own it.
1. Euryale

"_No child should be beaten"_

"_Yes, well, it's not exactly like I can stop them, now can I?"_

"_You know as well as I do that that's not what I meant. Look, you're obviously not like them, I mean, can any of them speak to snakes?"_

"_And you know as well as __**I**__ do that we've had this discussion before. I'm only ten. They're bigger than me, there are three of them, and you're not poisonous. There's nothing I can do, no matter how different I am." _hissed a small boy, huddled in a cupboard under the stairs in Number Four, Privet Drive.

"_Venomous."_ The little serpent coiled around the boys neck hissed back lazily.

"_Come again?"_

"_Venomous, Harry. Snakes are venomous. Not poisonous."_

"_Well neither one does me any good, does it Euryale?"_

Crossing his arms, the boy leaned back against the wall of what constituted his bedroom. Ever since he could remember, Harry Potter had lived with his relatives, if he could even call them that. And every day was the same routine. At seven in the morning, his Aunt Petunia would rap on the door to his cupboard. This was his cue to get up and make breakfast before his Uncle Vernon or his cousin Dudley made their way to the kitchen. He would then eat his own meager portion while his whale-like uncle and cousin devoured everything else. Vernon would then leave for work, and provided it was the summer time, Dudley would go out and see Piers Polkiss, or another of his friends. Harry was then left to do his chores and then return to his cupboard. During the summer it was roughly the same, only with Dudley going to school, and Harry swiping his schoolbooks at night.

Harry's only companion throughout this routine was Euryale. Harry had found Euryale a year or so beforehand while tending his Aunt's garden. He had been pulling weeds one afternoon when he heard a voice complaining about all the shade being uprooted. Looking down he had seen the small grass snake, and after apologizing, and taken it inside to his cupboard.

A sharp, quick tapping at the door announced that it was time for Harry to begin cooking breakfast. Letting Euryale slither up his arm and coil around his neck, Harry walked out and into the kitchen.

"Boy, you know you're to have breakfast finished before the rest of us get down here." Vernon stated, leveling Harry with a look that spoke of pain later.

"Especially today of all days!" Petunia continued, moving over to Dudley, who sat at the table in front of a small mountain of gifts. "I won't have you ruining my Ickle Duddykins special day"

"Yes Aunt Petunia. Sorry Uncle Vernon" Harry said quickly, moving over to start on the bacon and eggs.

"Mummy, there are only thirty-six presents here, that's two less than last year!" Dudley suddenly exclaimed, looking up from his presents.

Tuning out the conversation going on behind him, Harry lost himself in his thoughts.

'_Right, Dudley's birthday. How could I forget, he's been reminding me about how he's going to the zoo for the past week?'_

The doorbell rang, jerking Harry from his thoughts. He knew somebody else would get it though. They would never risk a neighbor seeing Harry if they could help it. Finishing breakfast, Harry set the plates on the table and excused himself before his Aunt Petunia could get back with whom he assumed to be Piers.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon began dangerously. "**What** is that ridiculous jewelry you have around your neck?"

Cursing under his breath, Harry made a break for it. Unfortunately, Vernon Dursley moved surprisingly fast for a man so unreasonably large. Grabbing Harry by the collar he pulled Euryale off of Harry's neck, throwing him into the kitchen counter in the process. Realizing Euryale for what he was, Vernon shifted so he was holding the snake by the head, clamping the mouth shut, and rounded on Harry, who was still picking himself up off the floor.

"You think this is funny? Do you think it's bloody well _amusing_ to bring filthy animals into this house? WELL? ANSWER ME **BOY**!" Vernon bellowed the final part at Harry. Harry for his part was just standing there, stark white and silent. He had hit his back on the corner of the counter and was fairly certain he had bruised something. Upon standing he had seen his whale of an uncle holding his only real friend and waving him around like a shoelace.

"Not answering, hm? Well, we'll just have to teach you some respect, boy." He spat the last word and stalked back towards Harry, shoving him roughly out of the way again. And for the second time in so many minutes, Harry found himself picking his self off of the floor and clutching at his side. Only this time, a far worse sight awaited him.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ay, whatcha doin' down there?"

Harry cracked one eye enough to see that he was outside. Opening them both properly he took in his surroundings. He was lying under some plastic structure in the local park. The strange rubber mulch the place was lined with explained the ache in his back and neck. Judging by how high the sun was, it was probably around mid-day or some such. Looking back down he closed his eyes and let a quiet hiss escape his lips, _"I'm sorry Euryale"_

"What wuzzat? Didn' quite catch that. Why're ya sleepin' under some ol' bench in the park, anyway? You run away from home or somethin'?"

A dark shadow passed across Harry's face. _"Will you just go away? I don't know you…"_

A gasp. "You were speakin' parseltongue before?"

"_Parseltongue? What are you talking about, the snakespeak?"_ Harry hissed in response. He didn't know this girl. He didn't trust this girl. Nobody he had ever met had been kind to him, why would this girl be any different?

Sighing in frustration, the girl sat back on her heels. "You know, its really hard to understand you when you keep hissin' at me like that. S'kinda creepy too. Anyway, names Tonks if you decide you wanna speak English again."

Sitting up properly, Harry took his first proper look at this girl. She seemed to be about his height, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She had a slightly heart shaped face and hazel eyes, but the most significant feature about her was her hair. It was short, spiky, and vivid electric blue. Observing the girl observing him, Harry blew out a sigh and decided she wasn't an immediate threat.

"T-tonks? What kind of name is that?" He asked softly. He wasn't prepared for the reaction he got though. At his question, Tonks fell over backwards, groaning something about stupid names.

"S'not my real name, er, my firs' name anyway. Firs' names Nymphadora, but don' call me that unless you wanna get kicked in the bits, got it Harry?" Tonks said, sitting back up and leveling Harry with an amused mock glare.

"…How do you know my name?"

Tonks turned an interesting shade of red that Harry had only before seen on Uncle Vernon's face when he had accidentally spilled hot sauce in the chili back at Number Four. "Oh, um, I, that is I mean…"

"NYMPHADORA MIRANDA TONKS! What have I told you about wandering off on your own?" A tall was heading in their direction, and she seemed to be making Tonks uncomfortable. She was tall, that was obvious. She was dressed in elegant blue and silver robes and her long brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun as if she had been about to go somewhere important.

"MUM!" Tonks whined. "You know I don't like it when you call me by my first naaaaaame. And besides, I was only gone ten minutes, plus, if I hadn'a come to the park, I never woulda found Harry here!

"Oh? And who is this Harry?" She looked down from her daughter to the boy half hidden under the bench. He appeared to be about Nymphadora's age, but if that were the case he was severely under weight. Looking the boy over she saw he was wearing a pair of jeans at least four sizes too big for him, and a shirt that was ripped near the collar and stained dark on the back left side. He was also clutching what appeared to be the two halves of a dead snake. Sweeping her eyes farther up to his face, she let out a gasp of her own. "Merlin's bits."

Tonks giggled at her mother's language. "Told ya Mum. What should we do about him, I don't think he knows about ma-"

"Nymmy! If he doesn't know, it's not our place to tell him." Turning to face Harry she continued, "Harry? My name is Andromeda Tonks, I'm Nymphadora's mother. Harry, why are you under a bench?"

"_Why do you care?" _He hissed softly, still clutching Euryale's remains as if letting go of them would symbolize his own death as well.

"…Harry, can you speak English? I can't understand you when you speak Parseltongue like that." At his confused look she continued, "Snake language. We call it Parseltongue."

"Mum, I know he speaks English, he talked to me!" Tonks interrupted her mother. "He asked what kind of name Tonks was!"

"Parseltongue?" Both sets of eyes snapped to Harry, who continued, though it was more like he was talking to himself. "I didn't know it had a name. Euryale always just said I could understand. He said I was different…"

The Tonks women shared a look at this. Finally the elder of the two broke the silence.

"Euryale, Harry? Was that your snake?" And this was the final straw, it would appear; for Harry broke down in front of the two, startling them as he had seemed fine only moments before. Tonks moved over to comfort the crying boy while her mother watched and made her decision. Getting down on her knees she leaned over to get Harry's attention.

"Harry? Harry, if you'd like we live right around the corner. You're more than welcome to stay at our house for a while if you need." Harry looked up at her with still watery eyes and let out a faint hiss.

"_Thank you."_

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

Arriving at the Tonks home, Harry was caught off guard. The Dursleys were obsessed with keeping up appearances. Their lawn was green, their cars were shiny, and their house was spotless. This was all he had ever seen, and all he had ever known. So walking into the Tonks household, with its moderate clutter and lived in appearance was both startling and refreshing. The television had dust on the screen, the couch appeared to have been sat on more than once since its purchase, and the ceiling fan was spinning despite nobody being home.

Walking into the house, the three sat on the couch, where Andromeda turned to face Harry once again.

"Harry, if you'd like, we could bury your snake in the morning."

"Euryale."

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that."

"Euryale. His name…was Euryale. And I…I'd like that."

The rest of the evening passed without much fanfare, the three ate a rather large dinner Andromeda cooked, and the younger of the two went off to bed, Tonks to her room and Harry to the guest room he had been given.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

The next morning Harry woke with a start. For the first time he could remember, he had woken up to the smell of…bacon? Wandering out from the guest room he had been given, he made his way down the stairs and towards the smell. Entering the kitchen, he found both Tonks women sitting at the table, the younger of the two putting away eggs at a rate that would have made Dudley nauseous.

Noticing him in the doorway, Andromeda smiled and waved him over to the table. As he sat down she chuckled softly. "Good morning! I wasn't sure if you were going to make it down before Nymmy finished off all the eggs. And the bacon. And-oh bugger, is that really the time? Nymmy, I've got to run to work, fill Harry in as much as we discussed, but No More, understood young lady?" She finished leveling a stern gaze on her daughter, who to her credit was still doing a remarkable impression of an auburn-haired Dudley. Seeing her daughter nod, Andromeda walked out the back door.

Harry looked at Tonks. Tonks looked back. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Harry finally broke the silence.

"So, are you going to explain why your hair isn't the same color as it was yesterday, or should I start guessing?"

Blushing around her eggs, Tonks swallowed before replying. "Welllll, technically I'm not supposed to tell you this much, buuuuut I'm a witch."

"A witch." Harry repeated dryly.

"Yep, and you're a wizard." Tonks chirped cheerfully. "You see, magic, well, it exists. I don't suppose those – hey Harry?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to your side? Your shirts all stained up and you've been holding it since we found you yesterday."

"_Its nothing, I bumped into a corner" _Harry replied, suddenly finding a particular tile on the floor fascinating.

"Still can't understand the hissing, you know. But I don't think you were telling the truth, whatever it was. Here, let me see." And before Harry could stop her she had pulled up the side of his shirt exposing a long, half healed cut in his side. "Harry, your relatives didn't do that did they?"

A dark look crossed Harry's face at the mention of the Dursleys. He'd rather not even think about them. His side would heal, hell; it was already most of the way there. But there was no bringing back Euryale.

"They _did_, didn't they? Oh Harry, why don't you tell someone? Go to the police, go to Dumbledore!"

"Dumbledore?"

"Oh, right, I was explainin'! Well anyway, the short version is magic exists, I'm a witch, you're a wizard, and you're famous." Tonks finished smiling at him, allowing herself to be distracted from his injury. For his part Harry just stared before shaking his head and hissing to himself.

"Long story too short Tonks. What's the long version?"

"Hmm, well, this version could take a while, what say we sit on the couch or somethin', I'm full of eggs." Tonks stated, glaring at her eggs as if it were their fault she had eaten so much.

Once the two were situated on the couch, Tonks resumed her story. "Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, you bein' famous. Well, didn' ya ever wonder what happened to your parents?"

Harry scowled. "The Dursleys told me they were killed in a car crash."

Tonks for her part was doing a rather admirable impression of a goldfish. "A car crash? Not even bloody close. Harry, they were murdered."

"Murdered? By who?"

"Well see, there used to be this really bad dark wizard. Got it into 'is 'ead that wizards were superior to muggles. Non-magic folk" she explained at Harry's expression. "He gathered up a lot o' followers, an' for a while people were worried he was gonna take over."

At this point Harry interrupted. "Wait a minute, if everyone was so worried about this guy taking over, why weren't they fighting him?"

"Well, it's not that simple. Like I said, he had lots o' followers, but he also had a lot of the dark creatures on his side, you know: manticores, giants, minotaurs, you know what those are right?" At his nod she continued. "People were scared, Harry. They were scared to even say this guy's name, still are actually." She finished looking thoughtful.

"So what was it?" Harry asked after a moment.

"What was what?"

"_The name of the bastard that _killed my parents." Harry hissed, switching from parseltongue to English halfway through.

"And I thought the hissing was weird on its own…" Tonks mumbled. She sighed before continuing, "I'm only gonna say it once, got it? I don' like sayin' it any more than anyone else does. 'Is name was Voldemort. And Harry, he was a parselmouth too. Most people consider it dark."

Harry's eyes narrowed to slits. "So being able to speak to my best friend makes me dark?"

Tonks' eyes widened and she backpedaled immediately. "Harry, no, that's not what I meant at all! I'm, I'm sorry about your friend." She finished, eyes downcast and hair a dark plain brown.

Harry softened at this. "I'm sorry Tonks; I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just, I'll heal, ya know? But those, those _muggles_ killed my first friend. Euryale is…was, my only friend."

Pulling Harry into a hug, Tonks could only whisper one thing to try and soothe the devastated boy. "You have me…"

* * *

**AN: So yeah, this was the first chapter of the first book in what I was going to call the S-Series. Not so much anymore. Now, I'm taking it in a completely different direction. I hope you enjoy it. **


	2. Magical Might

"_The latter years of the Dark Lord Grindelwald's campaign saw the introduction of the Dark Lord's five generals to the forefront of the war, with them now leading individual battles._

_Little is known about how Lord Grindelwald's warm machine operated, but it is certain that he had five generals serving under him. These generals were the only ranked members of the Dark Army, with the rest serving as little more than warm bodies for his campaign across Europe._

_First was the Titan, aka Nikolai Ivanov. Standing at 2.4 meters tall and weighing 145 kilograms at the time of death, Ivanov was apprehended while leading a raid on the French wizarding settlement of Peroíque. The Dark Army attacked the town early in the morning of December 1944. Before being subdued and eliminated by Allied forces Ivanov was able to lead his troops into the town, kidnapping nine people and murdering several others, and was personally responsible for the deaths of nineteen civilians, three British Aurors and two French Lumiens._

_The Butcher, aka Christophe Benoit was a wealthy French Healer. He is believed to have been one of Grindelwald's primary funders, as well as the chief of his Healer staff. However, on the battlefield Benoit left his opponents in pieces. Using his knowledge of the human body and his Healer training he would stop his enemies hearts in their chests. Worse, however, than his fighting were the experiments he conducted on prisoners of the Dark Army. He was apprehended in his lab near Nurmengard in April 1945 shortly following Grindelwald's defeat._

_The Doppelgänger, aka Damiano Salviati da Bagnone was the third. A Metamorphmagus from Florence, Italy, Salviati was the Dark Lord's left hand and personal assassin. Using his metamorphmagus abilities he was able to infiltrate guarded areas and government buildings. Salviati was rarely seen on the battlefield, as his skills were more useful elsewhere, but when he was his primary goal was causing confusion in the enemy ranks. He was apprehended in February 1945 after failing to assassinate Spanish Minister of Magic Salvador Domingo._

_The Dagger, aka Dieter Brandt was seventeen at time of death. A prime example of Grindelwald's war machine, Brandt was apprehended in July 1944. After apprehending Brandt in a battle outside of Little Hampton in which the youth was responsible for the deaths of all civilian residents and twenty-seven Aurors and Lumiens, British Unspeakables were given custody in cooperation with French Phénomè. Questioning revealed an immunity to Veritaserum and complete mental defense under Legillimency. After months of interrogation, Brandt was sentenced to death by Killing Curse on October 19__th__, 1944._

_Lastly, The Siren, aka Alicia Simone. The Dark Lord's right hand, Simone was apprehended on April second, 1945. After being transferred to French Lumien custody, Simone escaped on Apri-"_

"Whatcha readin'?" Tonks asked, peering over the back of the chair. Since being introduced to the wizarding world, Harry had been reading everything the Tonks women had in their limited library. Their house was a modest two story on Blakely Street. Downstairs was a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and 'Harry's Room' as the Tonks women had come to call it. Upstairs was Tonks' room, her mother's room and the library. And in the library was where Harry currently found himself, sprawled out in front of his chair.

"Tonks, please stop doing that. I'm tired of ending up on the floor." Harry grouched, picking himself up for the third time that morning. Tonks had seen fit to wake him up by screaming breakfast in his face at eight-thirty that morning.

"Sorry Harry. S'just that Mum said to let you know Professor Dumbledore's gonna be coming by this evening. He's bringing our letters in person!" Tonks finished eyed the currently teal haired girl warily. If her appearance was anything to judge by, it was going to be a very long night indeed. She was wearing an elegant pale gold dress and her hair was done up, most likely done using her abilities; after informing him that he was a wizard Tonks had briefly explained how she was a metamorphmagus.

Carefully marking his place, Harry closed the copy of Magical Might: The Grindelwald Campaign he had been reading and sat it on the table. "If he's coming by for dinner, why are you already dressed up?" Harry asked.

His question was met by a confused look from Tonks. "Harry, its six in the evening, you've been reading all day. Professor Dumbledore will be here soon. S'why Mum wanted me to come getcha. She left some dress robes on your bed."

Now it was Harry's turn to look confused."A dress? I have to wear a dress?"

"No silly, dress robes. You know, nice robes? I keep forgetting you didn't grow up learning this stuff." Tonks responded with a giggle, not noticing the dark look that crossed Harry's face.

"Right, dress robes. Okay, thanks for letting me know." With that Harry got up and walked out of the library, leaving a bewildered Tonks standing in the middle of the room.

O0o0o0

Harry walked down the stairs wearing a pair of green and black dress robes Andromeda had laid out for him. As he walked down the stairs he found himself thinking about the man he was about to meet. Dumbledore was famous in the wizarding world for defeating Grindelwald in the forties, this Harry knew. But other than that, what did he know about the man? That he was headmaster of Hogwarts, and that was about it.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Harry entered the kitchen where Andromeda and Dumbledore were already seated at the table talking, though they stopped as he walked in. Dumbledore smiled and rose from his seat, walking across the room to approach Harry. "Ah, Harry my boy. It is good to see you in such good health. Since I arrived Andromeda has been painting a grim picture of your condition." Dumbledore said a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. He was wearing a set of deep purple robes with stitched comets flying around them, and on his nose were a pair of half-moon spectacles.

"_Well sir, the Dursleys aren't exactly charming." _Harry hissed in response, leaving a startled expression on the old wizard's face.

Dumbledore was quick to recover, however and chuckled, responding to the hiss. "Ah, Parseltongue. Andromeda mentioned you were fluent in it. Could you repeat that in English, my boy?"

"Sorry, sir. I'm not used to talking to other people. I said that the Dursleys aren't exactly charming. Will I have to go back to them?" He had to ask; though there was no way he was going back to that hell, regardless of what Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore smiled, his vivid blue eyes seeming to twinkle with a mind of their own as they met Harry's vivid green. "No, I don't see why we should send you back there when Andromeda has so graciously given you a room of your own here. Now, normally we send out your letters on your eleventh birthday, but I suppose we could make an exception just this once." The aged wizard said with a smile and another burst of twinkling. "I'm sorry sir, but what letter? All Tonks would tell me is that I'm a wizard, and apparently a famous one." Harry replied slightly dazed. Inside his head was a jumble of thoughts and emotions, primarily a feeling of elation: he wasn't going back to the Dursleys!

Dumbledore chuckled before explaining, "Your Hogwarts letter, Harry. You didn't think young witches and wizards sprung into the world already knowing all there was about magic, did you? No, my boy, we have a number of schools of magic, including Hogwarts, which is my personal favorite if I may."

"Albus, I think you may be a tad bit biased." Andromeda chuckled, causing the aged wizard to chuckle himself.

"Ah, you may be correct Andromeda." He said, then, turning his attention back to the young boy in front of him he continued. "Hogwarts, my boy, is one of the premier schools of magic in Europe, and the only one in Great Britain. You've been enrolled since birth, my boy."

Taking the letter, Harry sat down at the table, digesting everything he had just learned. "

Ah, Nymphadora. I see you have been practicing with your abilities." Dumbledore said as Tonks walked into the room.

Grumbling about unnecessarily long names Tonks made her way to the table and sat down across from Harry. "Thank you Professor. Did you bring our letters?"

"Nymphadora Tonks! I know you have better manners than that, young lady!" Andromeda scolded her daughter as Dumbledore smiled serenely.

"Why yes I did, Miss Tonks. I have already given Harry his, but now, I believe I smell your mothers wonderful cooking."

0o0o0o

"Harrrrrryyyyyy!" Harry cracked open one eye and looked around his room.

Tonks wasn't there, and he wasn't on the floor. Things were looking up.

"Harryyyyy! Get dressed, we're going to Diagon Alley!" Tonks was yelling from somewhere outside of his room, possibly the kitchen with the way the girl ate. At times Harry had trouble telling who ate more: Dudley or Tonks.

Grabbing his glasses, he got out of bed and got ready for the day. It was July thirty-first, his eleventh birthday, and they were finally going to Diagon Alley to get their supplies. After getting dressed and washed he made his way into the living room where Tonks and her mother were already sitting.

"S'about time you got up, lazy bones. Was worried we were gonna hafta leave without ya." Tonks teased as he walked in.

"Sorry…" he mumbled, looking at his feet.

"Now now, Dora, don't tease him. Harry, she was only teasing you, we wouldn't leave you." Andromeda amended, seeing his discomfort. "Now, we'll be flooing to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry, All you have to do is take a pinch of the silver powder in the vase on the mantle, throw it in the fireplace, and say 'The Leaky Cauldron' as clear as you can, okay?" At his nod she continued, "Okay, I'll go first to make sure everyone gets there fine, then you, and then Dora."

Crossing the room to the fireplace, she grabbed a handful of glittery floo powder and threw it in the hearth. With an exclamation of 'Diagon Alley!' she was engulfed in green flames and disappeared. Startled, Harry crossed the room and followed suit.

What followed was nothing he expected. The second he said his destination there was a burst of heat, not the heat one would expect from a fire, but the pleasant heat of a warm day. Following the heat was about ten seconds of rapid spinning and he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor of what appeared to be a pub.

"Not the most graceful landing, Harry." Andromeda said, helping him up quickly, before Tonks could land on him.

"Thank you." Harry said, getting to his feet and watching Tonks step out of the hearth like it was nothing.

Regaining his equilibrium, Harry looked around to discover he was, in fact, in a pub. Before he had a chance to look around much however he was shepherded out the back by Andromeda, where he found himself in a small alley with a brick wall at the end.

"Is _this_ Diagon Alley?" he asked, bewildered that they would actually travel to such a place.

"Nope, watch this!" Tonks said, pointing at the wall. Andromeda pulled out a thin wooden stick and tapped several of the happened next gave Harry his first true taste of the wizarding world.

The bricks shifted, moving themselves around until a large archway had formed where the wall had been. Through the archway Harry could see a long winding road with shops on both side, and large groups of people milling about, buying all manner of objects. The closest shop he could see had a sign in the window proclaiming 'Amarok fur, 5 Sickles per ounce'.

"Harry," Andromeda said "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. But hopefully it makes a decent Christmas present? Ah well. 'Tis the Season.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and whatever else you may celebrate.


	3. Diagon Alley

"Harry," Andromeda said "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Harry for his part did an admirable impression of a goldfish for a moment, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. At the far end of the alley he could see a large white marble building with tall columns on either side of the large double doors.

"Better close your mouth, flies will fly in it." Tonks said, nudging him in the rib and nodding sagely, earning a weak glare from the awestruck young wizard.

"Quiet you." He shot back, then, realizing something he turned to Andromeda. "Um, ma'am, I don't have any money. How am I supposed to afford any of this stuff?"

Chuckling bemusedly Andromeda patted him on the shoulder. "Harry, did you really think we hadn't thought of that? Here, this is yours." She handed him a small brass key she had dug out of her bag. "This is the key to your vault. Your parents left you quite a bit of money; we'll be going to Gringotts first to get it. That's the big white building down the street." She added, seeing his confused look at the mention of the bank.

Blushing profusely, Harry mumbled out his thanks and followed the Tonks women down the cobblestone street to the large marble façade. Traversing the long and oftentimes crooked street, Harry looked around and took in as many of the sights as he could, spotting numerous shops he'd like to look at once they were done retrieving their money, but one building in particular stood out to him.

"Ma'am, what's that building?" He asked Andromeda, pointing out a building almost as large as Gringotts, but with more windows. Visible through the massive open double doors was a full dragon skeleton, suspended from the ceiling and still flapping its skeletal wings slowly.

"Oh, that's the British branch of the International Museum of Magical History. There are other branches in most developed magical communities around the world. And you don't have to call me ma'am, Harry. Andy will do just fine." The older woman informed him with a gentle smile.

"Mum, can we go after we're done shopping? Harry's never seen it b'fore!" Tonks piped in once her mother was finished talking.

"We'll see Nymmy. If there's time, I don't see why not."

0o0o0o0

"Key?"

They were standing in the larger foyer of Gringotts bank; a room which Harry estimated had to be at twice as tall as the Dursley's house. Harry had read about goblins in one of the history books he had borrowed from Andromeda in the days before the outing, but it still didn't prepare him for his first encounter with them. The goblins of Gringotts were sitting at counters and booths, some helping the witches and wizards wishing to see their vaults, and others examining piles of rare gems and gold and silver coins. One goblin in particular was peering through a miniature telescope at the blade of a small silver dagger which was glowing a faint blue. After that they had approached one of the goblins and Andromeda had requested to see their vaults.

"Yes, right here." She presented two small brass keys to the goblin, who took it and examined the small numbers carved into the handle.

Handing the keys back, the goblin turned his head and called out for, presumably, another goblin. "Clawshank!"

When another goblin walked up, he turned back to the three humans. "This is Clawshank, he will take you to your vaults." And with that, he went back to inspecting a large glowing yellow gemstone.

"Follow me." Clawshank said, and walked off towards the back of the lobby. The three humans followed through a plain wooden door in the back which led to a number of lesser lit corridors and finally a large stone chamber, where Clawshank gestured to a mine cart. "In you go."

0o0o0o0

Harry gave the wand a flick and a shelf near the back of the room collapsed in on itself. Almost before he was finished lowering it the old man in front of him snatched it out of his hand and put it back in its box before stalking over to the collapsed shelf.

They had just climbed into the cart when Clawshank had started whatever mechanism was propelling it and they had sped off into the bowels of Gringotts Bank. To say Harry had been shocked at seeing the piles of gold, silver, and bronze in his vault would have been an understatement, and after loading up a small leather bag with more of it than would conceivably fit, they had sped off towards the Tonks's vault, and then the surface.

Their first stop after that had been a clothing store named Twilfitt and Tatting's. They had been heading to another store named Madame Malkin's but had turned and headed in thr opposite direction when Andromeda had spotted a blonde woman and her equally blonde son in the shop. Several stops later, they were standing in Ollivander's Wand Shop. Tonks had found the wand for her (or vice versa) in only three tries, and was now examining her eleven inch, unicorn hair and holly wand, while Harry tried his eleventh wand so far.

Returning from scrounging through the boxes of wands Harry had knocked over, Ollivander thrust yet another wand into his hands. "Here, here. Try this one. Twelve inches, dragon heartstring and elm. Firm, yet springy." Giving it a gentle wave, wary of causing more destruction, Harry groaned as another stand against a far wall burst into flames, causing Ollivander to give a startled shriek and take the wand, dousing the flames with it.

"Hmm, very curious." He muttered, heading over and picking up a box on the floor next to the charred stand. Harry just ignored him, as he had been claiming things were curious since they began. Returning with the slightly burnt box, Ollivander handed him yet another wand.

"This one, eleven inches, phoenix feather and holly. Give it a wave."

Sighing, Harry waved the wand, groaning out loud as it shot out of his hand and flew across the room, imbedding itself in a wall.

"Hm, I was certain that one would be _the one_. After all, its brother was the wand that gave you your scar, Mister Potter. But no matter, I have a good feeling that we'll find your wand soon enough." And so he flicked his own wand, and the phoenix wand pulled itself from the wall, falling to the floor with a clatter. The eerie old man walked over and looked at where the wand was pointing, and picked up a box in that direction.

"Peculiar combination. Ironbark and Axex feather. Thirteen inches. Springy, yet of my own creation…" He muttered while bringing the wand over to Harry.

Giving the wand a gently wave, Harry was tremendously startled when nothing apparent happened. Flicking it a little more forcefully he let out a surprised yelp when he started gently floating off of the ground.

"Good show, Mister Potter! I believe we have finally found the wand for you. Unfortunately, other than its make I cannot tell you any details of that wand, other than it was made by an old acquaintance of mine many years ago. It is made of rare Ironbark, and the core is a feather from an Axex, an extinct Egyptian Griffon. I believe that that wand will go on to do great things, Mister Potter, and it will be up to you to guide it."

Harry simply smiled and gave the man the money for the wand, and followed the Tonks women out of the store and back into the alley. Ollivander watched as they left and sighed to himself, "Great things, indeed.", and turned to clean his shop.

0o0o0o0

"Well that took long enough" Tonks grumbled good naturedly at Harry as they left the dimly lit wand shop. "I didn' think you were ever gonna find a wand that worked for ya."

"Nymmy, don't tease Harry. Besides, Ollivander just seems to get more and more excited the longer it takes to find someone their wand. I've never understood it." Andromeda said before shaking her head to clear it. "Now, we just have one more stop before we can head to the museum."

"Where Mum? We got everythin' on the list." Tonks questioned her mother.

"Well, the way I see it, we owe Harry a birthday present. Don't you think so?"

Harry looked up from where he had been examining his wand in shock. "A-a birthday present? You don't have to do anything like that." He stammered, suddenly finding his shoes to be quite fascinating.

"Nonsense, Harry. Now, what kind of pet would you like? Owls are quite useful, but I've always been partial to cats myself." Andromeda probed as she led the way into a medium sized pet shop bearing a sign saying Magical Menagerie.

Inside the store was hectic to say the least. Cages lined the walls showing all different kinds of cats, mice, toads and owls. Tonks immediately ran off to look at a particular snowy white owl trying to sleep in a corner. Andromeda told Harry to have a look around and to find her when he found one he liked before heading over to pet a small gray kitten through its cage.

Harry walked around, feeling quite out of place looking at all the cats and owls. He walked over to where Tonks was smiling at the large white bird and had to admit to himself, it was rather pretty. Turning he headed in the opposite direction of the birds and walked past the cats to a large glass case of toads. He was wondering why anyone would want a toad as a pet when he heard what sounded to him like a whispered conversation.

"_-told you not to eat so fast. If you throw up in here I'll bite your rattle off."_

"_It's not my fault. That pathetic human only feeds us once every few days, I was hungry!"_

"_You're pathetic. Learn some self control, and it not the humans fault, those books they have recommend feeding your type sparingly. In the wild you are from the desert after all."_

"_Ssss, whatever. I still say you should bite him. I would, but my-"_

"_-venom sacks were removed in that muggle pet shop, I know."_

Following the sounds, Harry rounded a corner and came face to face with another set of glass cases, one with a large tan and gray rattlesnake in it, and the other containing a small tan and dark red snake Harry couldn't readily identify.

"_Um, excuse me"_

The snakes looked at him, flicking their tongues in and out rapidly before the rattlesnake turned back to its fellow.

"_Did the small human just speak to us?"_ it questioned.

"_Yes, I believe it did."_ The smaller snake responded before turning back to Harry. _"Can I help you, young speaker?"_

Harry smiled at the small snake, pleased that it didn't seem ready to bite him just yet. _"Yes, I was just wondering what type of snake you are. There's no sign, and I like your coloring."_

"_Sss, very polite, this one." _The rattlesnake hissed at its smaller compatriot, who just ignored it.

"_I am an Egyptian Asp, young speaker. It is a pleasure to meet one of your kind, old Serapis spoke highly of a speaker he once knew before he was purchased." _

Harry leaned in and was surprised to see that the small asp had two tiny horns above its eyes. _"Well, I'm here to find a familiar, would you like to come with me?"_

The little snake tilted its head and flicked its tongue, giving the impression that it was judging Harry before responding. _"I would be honored. My name is Sssirithissaka, though that may be difficult to say in your language. You may call me what you wish."_

Harry smiled and told the little asp that he would be back in a moment before heading to find Andromeda. He found her in the front of the store purchasing the white owl for Tonks.

"There you are Harry, did you find one you wanted?" She questioned, seeing him come from the direction of the toads.

"Yes ma'am, but its not a cat or owl." He replied sheepishly.

"Harry, I'm not concerned over what animal it is. You can have a toad if that's what you want." She told him, smiling warmly.

"Well, it's not a toad either."

"Well, why don't you show me what it is you want?" Andromenda told him, gesturing for the shop keeper to follow them.

Ten minutes later saw a slightly subdued Andromeda leading Harry and Tonks out of the shop, Hedwig the owl and Ananke the asp in tow. Turning to the pair she smiled at how happy they looked with their familiars.

"Okay you two, lets go get lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and a room to leave our purchases, and then we'll go to the museum, alright?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I had some serious writers block, and then I just couldn't find a good stopping point. I'm still not happy with this one, but I wanted the museum to be the beginning of the next chapter, because after that it's off to Hogwarts. **

**R&R please, if I don't know how you like it, I don't have much drive to keep writing.**


	4. All Aboard

"'This conduit stone is believed by most magical historians to have been created by Merlin. At this time its purpose remains unknown.' Well that seems pretty pointless, huh?" Tonks asked, turning from the small polished sapphire on the pedestal before her to look at her mother and Harry. They had stopped by the Leaky Cauldron and had a nice lunch as Andromeda had said they would before making the trek back to the museum. Harry had opted to keep Ananke with him, the small viper curled lazily around his wrist.

"I mean, I realize its old, and if Merlin made the thing it must be powerful, but why put it on display like this if nobody knows what it's for? Shouldn't it be off being studied somewhere?" Tonks continued, sounding for all the world like she had planned her little rant out beforehand.

"_Can you look at something else? The magics coming off of that rock are making my scales itch." _Said a sleepy hiss from Harry's left sleeve.

Harry grinned and responded, _"Sure. I think Tonks wants to get away from it too." _He said, looking over at Tonks, who was peering at the gemstone like it had insulted her current hair color of deep purple. Andromeda was standing behind her, shaking her head at her daughter's antics. Leaning in to whisper something in her ear, Andromeda laid a hand on her shoulder and led her away from the exhibit and towards a display of ancient looking broomsticks. Harry followed them, but an exhibit on the opposite wall caught his eye.

"_Hey, look at this. 'On loan from the Greek branch of the Museum of Magical History, this fang is believed to be from the basilisk created by Greek Dark Wizard Herpo the Foul. This is noteworthy as being the first of the species, and was recorded as being unusually large for the species, with measurements given at upwards of fifty meters.' Do you feel any magic coming off of this, Ananke?" _Harry hissed softly so as not to be over heard. Tonks had said that the majority of the wizarding public viewed parselmouths in a negative light.

"_Sss, nothing. Were you expecting something, young speaker?"_ Came the tired response from the little serpent.

"_No, just wondering. You said the conduit thing made your scales itch; I thought this might have some snake magic or something to it."_

"_I do not know if there is such a thing as snake magic, but perhaps we should look into it when return to your den. I am not as old as you seem to think me."_

This surprised Harry, as he had indeed believed his new companion to be at least a few years old from her manner of speaking. _"How old are you, exactly?"_

"_I couldn't tell you myself. I just know that I have not been around for long. I have shed two skins, though I don't know what that tells you other than I was once much smaller than this."_

Harry was still thinking on this, trying to determine just how old his familiar was when Andromeda walked up next to him. Taking a look at what had caught his attention, she spoke.

"Quite a large fang there. It's about as long as your little friend, wouldn't you say?"

Smiling at Ananke's pleased hiss at what she perceived as praise he turned to face the older woman.

"Yes, thank you again for getting her for me. And for everything else you've done."

"Oh, it was nothing Harry. You're family now. And besides, it is your birthday after all."

Harry smiled, it was his birthday. It was his birthday, and it was actually being acknowledged. Sure the Dursleys had remembered his birthday most years, but it still didn't receive the recognition that Dudley's did. Harry was positive that had he not left when he did over a month ago, he would have spent the day cooking for his relatives, only to receive an old pair of Vernon's socks or some other such rubbish as a present. Still, it was an odd feeling, having someone acknowledge his birthday with more than a grunt or an increase in chores.

"I'll tell you what, since it's your birthday, you can pick the next exhibit we look at. How does that sound?" Andromeda's words shook Harry from his thoughts.

"Oh, is Tonks okay with that?" Harry asked, looking over to where his friend was still examining the brooms.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with it, Harry. Here, take a look at this while I grab Dora and we'll go see whatever you pick." Andromeda said, handing Harry a small brochure before making her way back across the room to her daughter. Harry opened the pamphlet, his eyes widening at the list of displays. He considered a display on different breeds of dragons, the listing proudly proclaiming the museum's possession of a rare Siberian Frostmouth skeleton, before considering a display titled 'Modern Magical Marvels'. After some deliberation his eyes fell on what would be his choice.

"Kay Harry, what're we gonna see next?" Tonks' voice sounded behind him. Turning to see his friend and her mother waiting on his decision, he smiled and folded the brochure before handing it back.

"Magical Artifacts of the Ancient Egyptians" He informed them. "The brochure says it's a presentation given three times an hour by one of the curse breakers that helped find them. They're only going to be here until the first of September, and then they go on permanent display at the Egyptian branch of the Museum."

As he finished his explanation, Tonks gave an enthusiastic "Let's go!" and grabbed Harry and Andromeda by the hands and practically dragged them down the corridor to where the presentation was being given. Museum goers moved out of their way in a hurry as the currently fuchsia-haired girl led her companions through the crowded halls. As they entered the mid sized auditorium like room, they took their seats amongst the other visitors and waited for the display to begin. A few minutes later a tall young man with bright red hair walked out into the center of the room.

"Hello everybody. My name is Bill Weasley, and I will be your host today. These artifacts were discovered in Memphis, Egypt recently, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the expedition that uncovered them. Now…" As he began his introduction, Andromeda whispered to Harry and Tonks.

"Bill is Arthur and Molly's oldest. Harry, the Weasleys are old friends of mine, and Dora used to play with their son Ronald when she was little, remember Dora?"

"Yeah, all he ever wanted to do was play quidditch." Tonks whispered back, making a face. "I mean, I like quidditch just fine, but I can't play it all the time." Andromeda just smiled and Harry shook his head in amusement, turning his attention back to the curse breaker on the floor.

"…And if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer. Now, what we have here is what's known as the" Bill finished with a smile, before putting on a pair of gloves and pulling what looked like a large branch out of a case. It was roughly five and a half foot tall stick, and appeared to have seen better days. It was a dull brownish gray, and the top was gnarled and twisted in odd directions, but it was unmistakably a staff.

"I figured we'd start with our most prolific piece first." Bill said with a small chuckle, holding the staff in his left hand. "We found this close to the majority of the other artifacts I'll be showing you, but for some reason it was separated. We have some of our best linguists working on translating the hieroglyphs, but from what they can tell the Egyptians called it the Staff of Moses. Now, if it's actually the staff that parted the Red Sea is anybody's guess."

0o0o0o0

After the presentation, the three left the museum and made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron for a quick dinner before heading home. As they strolled down the Alley Andromeda found herself commenting on some of the past exhibits she had seen at the museum.

"I'm glad the different branches have started touring the more popular exhibits. That Ancient Egyption attraction was much better than say, the one on ancient magical roman plumbing."

"Mum, was there really an exhibit on that?" Tonks laughed.

"Not today, but you'd be surprised the things this museum has displayed in the past." Andromeda replied with a shake of her head as they passed through the archway separating the Alley from Muggle London. Walking into the pub, Harry stopped in his tracks as he saw the largest man he'd ever laid eyes on. The man had to have been at least seven feet tall and had a head completely covered in bushy black hair. He was dressed in a coat that appeared to have more pockets than actual coat.

"Oh, hello Hagrid." Andromeda said to the large man as she made her way into the building. "What brings you here today?"

"Oh, hullo 'Ndromeda. Jus' pickin' up some supplies fer 'Ogwarts. Th' grindylow population in th' lake is getting' outta hand. What're you an' Nymphadora doin' in Diagon Alley?" Hagrid asked, approaching the Tonks women and Harry as they sat down at a table.

"We're just here to get Dora and Harry's school supplies. Would you care to join us for dinner?" She asked, pulling up another chair for Hagrid, who just waved it off.

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Hagrid blinked in surprise, then seeing Harry sitting next to Tonks breaking out into a large grin that was just barely visible beneath his beard.

"Why I 'aven't seen you since you were a baby Harry! I remember you used to fit in th' palm of my hand."

Now it was Harry's turn to blink in surprise. "We, we've met before sir?" He asked, internally cursing his stutter. He had gotten much better, but it still came back whenever he met someone new, or perhaps it was just because Hagrid's monstrous size reminded him of an angry Vernon Dursley.

Smiling at the confused boy Hagrid nodded. "Oh of course, you wouldn't remember it. You were jus' a year old at th' time. I was th' one who took you from…from yer parents house th' night they passed on." Hagrid pulled a handkerchief from one of his many pockets and wiped his eyes with it. "'M Sorry bou' that. Always liked yer parents, I did. Good people, good people... Anyway, I was th' one to take you to yer Aunt and Uncle's house, on Dumbledore's orders o'course."

Harry just stared at him in shock, his mind coming to a standstill at this revelation. This man was the one who took him to the Dursleys all those years ago? This man was the reason he slept in a cupboard under the stairs? Shaking his head Harry struggled to separate the enormous man in front of him from the slightly less enormous man who had tormented him for as long as he could remember. Gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles stood out stark white he fought with a sudden urge to leave the pub and go back to the park Tonks had found him in.

"Anyway" Hagrid continued, oblivious to Harry's thoughts. "It was nice seein' ya again Harry, Andromeda, Nymphadora. I've got to get back to 'Ogwarts though, got to feed Fang. I'll be seein' the two of yeh on the first though." He said before turning and leaving the pub, Tonks grumbling about him using her first name to his back.

"_Well, that was interesting" _A hiss said from Harry's sleeve. _"What do you suppose a Fang is? I don't suppose he meant it in the sense that I have."_

"_Yeah, Fang, right…" _Harry replied distractedly, too absorbed in his own thoughts to pay much attention to his new familiar.

0o0o0o0

The month of August passed slowly at the Tonks household. Every day Harry would find himself waking up unpleasantly early, often before the sun had even fully risen. He suspected this was conditioned into him by his years being woken to cook breakfast for the Dursleys, but he didn't know what to do to break the habit. He would then spend the next few hours reading whatever he could about the magical world. Andromeda had a large selection of history books; when Harry asked her about them she had replied that she had needed them to know about anything except Goblin rebellions, and he'd understand when he got to Hogwarts.

Once the two Tonks women woke up, they would have breakfast before Andromeda left for the Ministry, leaving the children to their own devices for the day. Harry would have been content to continue reading, but any time he did for more than an hour at a time Tonks would interrupt him, claiming he acted like an old man. She was more interested in getting out of the house and traversing the neighborhood, which had lasted until a week before they left for Hogwarts.

Harry and Tonks were walking down the street discussing quidditch like any normal magical children; Ananke had opted to stay behind and sleep on Harry's pillow. She was close to shedding another skin and had claimed her scales ached. As they rounded the corner, Tonks complaining about how Hogwarts didn't allow first years to bring broomsticks, they came upon an unwelcome sight.

"There you are. Dad was wondering where you'd run off to. He was right mad when you ran out; Mum's had to do the cooking since you left. He'll be glad to know you've come crawling back." Dudley said walking towards them, flanked on either side by Piers Polkiss and another boy Harry had never seen before. He was tall and lanky, a few inches taller than Dudley but nowhere near as wide. He had a mop of blond hair and beady black eyes.

Swallowing heavily Harry focused his attention on Dudley who was still approaching. "I'm not crawling back to your whale of a father Dudley, so why don't you go tell him the 'freak' got away."

Dudley narrowed his eyes and turned to Tonks. "He been staying with you? You look like the sort that would keep him around, look at your hair! You're another freak like him, yeah?"

Tonks just snorted, though her hair turned from its current electric blue to an angry red. "Who are you to make fun o' my hair, whale boy? You must be Harry's cousin right? He's told me a thing or two 'bout you, tubby, and let me just say you don't want to mess with him anymore."

Dudley was slightly taken aback from being spoken to like that. His freak of a cousin ran out of the house on his birthday, forcing his mother to cook dinner, which wasn't as good as what Harry cooked, not that he'd ever admit that. On top of that, she had had to cook for the past two months while the freak had apparently been staying at this weird girl's house. And now when he'd finally caught Harry, he's evidently grown a backbone. Dudley was so in shock from this turn of events, he didn't even notice Tonks' hair change.

"Whoa, Dud, did you see that? Potter's friend's hair switched colors." The lanky blond boy said, bringing Dudley back to the present.

"Huh? Whatever; Piers, Gordon, grab Potter. We'll teach him not to run away from home." Dudley said with a vicious smile, apparently deciding that worrying about Harry's freaky friend's hair was too much. Laughing at Dudley's orders, Piers and the blond boy, Gordon, advanced towards Harry, ignoring Tonks altogether.

As they were within striking distance, Harry turned to Tonks and uttered a single word: run. As the two took off they could hear Dudley's friends chasing them, Dudley himself thundering along somewhat farther back. Unfortunately Gordon appeared to have been brought into the group because he was fast enough to catch fleeing targets, and Harry soon went tumbling to the ground as he was tackled. As he hit the ground he felt his glasses fly off and land somewhere in front of him. Tensing up he felt Gordon roll him over, and saw a blurry form pull back to hit him. Bringing his hands up to protect himself he felt a surge of warmth, followed by the weight on top of him vanishing.

Realizing that he was free, Harry felt around to find his glasses. Putting them on, he got up and took off down the street, seeing Tonks standing a few feet away staring at him. Catching up to her he grabbed her arm and pulled her to keep moving. Behind him he could hear Dudley screaming, asking what just happened. They ran full speed back to Tonks' house, trusting whatever he had done to keep Dudley's gang away from them. Busting through the front door, they collapsed on the couch breathing heavily.

"Well, I'd say that's a fine time to do accidental magic." Tonks said between pants, looking over at Harry.

"Accidental magic, is that what I did?" Harry asked, struggling to remember what he had done. All he remembered was raising his hands to protect himself from Gordon. He didn't remember doing any magic, but he supposed that was why it was called accidental magic.

"Yeah, I was goin' back to try an' get that scrawny kid off ya, but then you went an' blasted him into the air."

"Oh…" Harry said, because truly there wasn't much else to be said about it. "Wait, is the Ministry going to be mad about this? None of the books I've read have said anything about accidental magic."

Tonks shook her head. "Nah, the Ministry doesn't worry too much about accidental magic done b'fore you start Hogwarts. 'M sure they'll have to send someone out to make sure th' muggles don't remember it happenin' though. That's what Mum does."

Almost as if on cue, the fireplace lit up with green flames before Andromeda stepped out.

"Oh great…" Tonks muttered. And 'Oh great' summed it up nicely.

0o0o0o0

After the incident with Dudley, Harry and Tonks had been confined to the yard. After hearing the story, Andromeda had assured them that she didn't blame Harry for what happened, but had said she didn't want to risk it happening again. So for the next week the two were left with little to do except read, much to Harry's delight and Tonks' dismay. As September first drew nearer the two packed their trunks and prepared for the start of the school year.

The morning of the first found the occupants of the house rushing to get everything together, making last minute checks to make sure everything was packed and nothing was left behind. They piled into a car Harry had not even realized Andromeda knew how to drive. In his months at the Tonks household, he had never once seen it used. But she proved an able driver, getting them to Kings Cross station with minutes to spare.

"Okay, here we are: Platform Nine and Three Quarters." Andromeda said as they approached what to Harry looked like an ordinary brick wall. Turning to the children and seeing their confused expressions Andromeda explained. "Oh, it's not actually a wall, it's an enchantment. It's to keep the muggles out. Just walk straight through it, but be confidant. If you believe it's just a wall, you won't be able to make it through. It's best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Okay, now!" She said the last bit after a brief pause to make sure no muggles were looking.

Looking at each other briefly, Harry and tonks both shrugged their shoulders and took off at a jog, which turned into a run, and ended in a full sprint towards the seemingly solid wall in front of them. Closing his eyes as he got closer, Harry felt instead of saw himself pass through the barricade. He felt a gentle tingle on his skin and when he opened his eyes he was on a platform, an enormous crimson steam engine on the tracks in front of him.

"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Andromeda said behind them, having followed them through the barricade. Hearing the train blow its whistle, she jumped, realizing exactly how close they had cut it. Hugging her daughter and Harry fondly, she urged them onto the train, placing a feather light charm on their trunks as she knew exactly how frustrating it was to load them onto the storage compartments in the cabins.

With a last glance at her mother, Tonks followed Harry onto the crimson locomotive, following him down the hallway to find an unoccupied cabin. After traversing nearly the length of the train they came across an empty compartment and heaved their lightened trunks onto the overhead storage.

"Well how about that? We're finally heading to Hogwarts." Tonks said with a smile, thinking about the school. She had been looking forward to going since she was young, her mother telling her stories about her time there. "Which house do you think you'll be in Harry?"

Harry gave her a startled look. "House, what do you mean? I haven't been able to read any good books about Hogwarts yet, what are the houses?" It was true, while Andromeda had many books on recent and ancient magical history and a few on magical beasts; she hadn't had anything detailing Britain's foremost school of magic.

Tonks stared at him with her mouth hanging open for several seconds before shutting it. "Jeez Harry, I keep forgettin' you didn't grow up knowin' this stuff. Hogwarts is divided into four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. We get sorted into the Houses based on our personalities, though Mum never told me how they sort ya. Said it would be more fun if it was a surprise." Tonks explained, pulling a face. "Mum was in Ravenclaw; I'm hoping to get put in Gryffindor. Ravenclaw is known for being the house full o' brainiacs, Hufflepuff is supposedly the house for dependable friendly types, Gryffindor is the brave honorable house, and Slytherin is-"

Tonks was cut off in the middle of her explanation by the cabin door sliding open. A boy about Harry's height with pale skin and long black hair was standing in the doorway. He had dark eyes, and when he spoke he gave off an air of confidence.

"Hi, do the two of you mind if I sit here? There's only one other empty cabin, and I really don't want to sit with them." He said, making a face as he thought about the occupants of the other compartment. Not waiting for Harry and Tonks to respond, he stepped into the cabin, heaving his trunk up onto the storage rack.

Sitting down on the bench next to Harry, he looked around and held out his hand. "Sorry for barging in, but if your options were here and with them, you'd have done the same." Looking at Harry he held out his hand. "I'm Blaise Zabini."

Looking at the boy's outstretched hand, Harry shook it and nodded. "I'm Harry Potter. Pleasure to meet you Blaise, and yes, I am the Harry Potter." He added the last part at seeing Blaise' eyes widen almost imperceptibly and dart up to his forehead.

As the exchange was taking place, Tonks snorted. "Zabini huh, I think I've heard of you. The name's Tonks."

"Interesting name, and I'm sure you have. Let me assure you, the Zabini's are not and have never been Death Eaters. We're neutral, but don't tell the Dark Lord that." He finished with a laugh. Tonks just nodded.

"Okay, that's not what I was talkin' about though. Hasn't your mum been married like, five times? And it's my last name. First names Nymphadora, but don't call me that or I'll have Hedwig here peck your jibblies off." She said, gesturing to the snowy white owl sleeping by her trunk.

Blaise winced and sighed. "Seven, actually. I don't know how it happens, but I wish it would stay out of the papers."

As Blaise and Tonks talked, switching topics almost at random, Harry looked out the window, watching the countryside speed past. His mind was going over the House system at Hogwarts; how had he not read anything about it? Surely it was common knowledge, and which House would he be sorted into? What would he do if Tonks and he weren't in the same house? He didn't know anybody else, except perhaps Blaise. Such were his thoughts that he didn't even notice the time flying by like the countryside, and before he knew it several hours had past.

Suddenly the cabin doors opened again, startling harry from his thoughts, and Tonks and Blaise from their present conversation on magical creatures. Looking at the figure in the doorway, Harry heard Blaise groan. A pale boy with startlingly blond hair and grey eyes stood flanked by two boys that, if possible, made Dudley look thin. The pale boy looked over the occupants of the cabin with distaste, lip curling into a sneer when he saw Blaise.

"There you are Blaise, Daphne was wondering where you had gotten to. And who's this, it can't really be who they're saying, can it?" The boy drawled, eyes landing on Harry. "It isn't really the famous Harry Potter?"

Harry stared at the boy and was about to speak when Blaise cut him off. "Yes, Malfoy, now leave. Tell Daphne that I'm in pleasant company, and she's welcome to join us if she wants."

The boy, Malfoy, narrowed his eyes at Blaise. "I wasn't asking you, Zabini. But that's how it's going to be, is it? You'd rather sit here with blood traitors than with us?"

Blaise sighed in exasperation. "Malfoy, you know I don't care about your pureblood beliefs. The Zabini's have always been neutral, and I'm not going to be the one to break it. Now leave."

Malfoy sneered at Blaise. "If that's what you want then fine. Just remember that the Dark Lord won't appreciate your neutrality." He then focused his attention back on Harry and Tonks. "What about you Potter, cousin? Care to join us? You'll find that some company is better than others."

"Just leave, Malfoy." Tonks and Harry replied in unison, Tonks turning red with indignation. With a final sneer, Malfoy turned and left the cabin, the door sliding in place behind him. As he left, Blaise exhaled in relief.

"I thought he'd never leave. That was Draco Malfoy, his family were well known death eaters during the war, and he's every bit as unpleasant as he seems."

Tonks nodded and looked sheepishly at Harry. "And he's sort of my cousin. His mum and mine are sisters, they're the reason we didn't go in Madame Malkin's back in Diagon Alley."

Harry nodded in understanding. "I can see why you'd like to pretend you're not related to him, and I can see why you didn't want to sit with him, Blaise."

Blaise chuckled. "Yeah, his entire group is like that. Then you have those two gorillas he was with, Crabbe and Goyle. There's almost no room in the cabin with those two squeezed onto the benches."

The three laughed and talked about various things for the rest of the ride with no interruptions, save for an old witch pushing a trolley full of sweets asking if they wanted anything. Harry took one look at the cart and, realizing he hadn't had anything to eat that day, proceeded to buy some of everything. His first attempt at eating a chocolate frog had ended with it jumping up his sleeve and startling a sleeping Ananke.

"_Sssss! What was that? What have I done to make you send chocolate amphibians to jump on me?_

Harry laughed at his familiar. She had been coiled around his forearm since they left the house, claiming that she didn't want to risk him forgetting about her. Seeing Blaise' shocked expression, he laughed harder.

"What's the matter Blaise, afraid of snakes?"

Blaise blushed indignantly. "Absolutely not. The Zabini family has been sorted into Slytherin for generations. A Zabini being afraid of snakes is absolutely ridiculous. I was just surprised you had one, it doesn't seem fitting for the Boy Who Lived."

Harry groaned. "Oh, I never get tired of that nickname. But yeah, I used to have another snake, but he…he died. I got Ananke here over the summer."

Blaise nodded. "Fair enough. I guess you aren't the sure fire Gryffindor after all then. Maybe you'll even make it into Slytherin." He said with a smirk. At that remark they broke out into another discussion about the House system at Hogwarts and which ones they expected and hoped to be sorted into. Harry found himself indecisive on the matter. Tonks had expressed a desire to be a Gryffindor, brave and noble. Blaise had explained Slytherin, cunning and determined, which his family had been in for generations. And Ravenclaw sounded appealing to Harry, who wanted to learn all he could now that he had been introduced to the magical world. Their discussion and Harry's contemplation lasted so long that before he knew it, it was dark and the train was slowing down. Noticing this, they all rushed to get changed into their Hogwarts robes and exit the train.

Clambering off the train into the cold night air, Harry took a look around. There were students as far as he could see, and in the distance he could see a row of carriages that appeared to be pulling themselves. He was about to ask Tonks where they were supposed to go when he heard a familiar, and not entirely welcome voice.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I make no excuses, I just haven't felt like writing. I'm going to try to update more often, but if I don't I warned you. I'm not going to abandon this though, it will be completed in time. Here's a longer-than-normal chapter for you though. And in the next one we get the Sorting, and the first week of classes. maybe more. DADA should be fun though. Cheers!**


	5. Welcome To Hogwarts

"Wow" That was all Harry had to say. He was sitting in a wooden row boat that seemed to be powering itself through the black waters of a massive lake on Hogwarts grounds. Sitting with him were his only two friends, Nymphadora Tonks and Blaise Zabini. Although he had only met Blaise hours ago, he had come to like the boy, easily welcoming him into his little group. They had clambered into the boats at the instruction of Hagrid, the massive groundskeeper at Hogwarts.

Hagrid had been calling for all first years to follow him and get in the boats as they disembarked the express. After being cheerfully greeted by the enormous man and enduring a bone jarring pat on the shoulder, Harry and company had boarded the wooden dinghy and set sail for the school. They had sailed across the inky black surface of the lake with seemingly no change in scenery for several minutes before they heard a shout from further ahead. Looking back down at the water they could see what the student had exclaimed about.

The lake was alive with luminescent creatures, making the water mirror the night sky. They could see countless small glowing creatures, making the water look as if it were full of stars. The students broke out into excited whispers; even the pureblooded students from old families were interested in the display. As they watched they were surprised to see a blurry dark form rush past, only visible as a large shadow blocking out the dots of light.

"Those're glow-jellies." Hagrid's voice called out from the front of the armada of row boats. "They're only native to this lake and certain parts o' th' arctic circle. Not much use for 'em except fer lighting. Course th' grindeylows feed on 'em if they run out o' their regular prey. The giant squid seems to like 'em too."

Harry continued to watch the glow-jellies drift around under the surface of the lake until they rounded a bend. "Wow" Harry breathed, looking up at the massive structure ahead of them. There was still a vast expanse of lake ahead of them, but perched atop the far shore was Hogwarts, a massive castle with several towers and spires, lights pouring from the hundreds of windows. It made for a fantastic sight, standing out in stark contrast to the blackness of the grounds around it. But from what he could tell, they were approaching a side, not the front.

As they drew nearer to the shore, and the massive castle, Harry could see that there was a cave the lake flowed into. Sailing into the cave, he could tell that it must be at least as tall as the Dursley's home, and half again as wide. A wooden dock was built along one side, running along the length of the cave wall. As they entered the cave, the boats formed a line and stopped alongside it, allowing the occupants to go ashore. As the students climbed on the dock they broke out into excited and nervous chatter until Hagrid called for their attention.

Seeing he had everyone's attention, Hagrid led them down the dock and through a door in the wall, easily large enough for his considerable frame to fit through without crouching. Passing through the doorway Harry saw that they were now in a large hall with a massive set of double doors at one end and a staircase at the other, having entered through a side door. Hagrid kept shepherding them through to another door diagonally across the hall from where they entered, but they were held up when several students shrieked.

Craning to get a look at what had happened, Tonks gasped as she saw they were suddenly soaking wet. A devious cackle gave away the culprit as the students as one looked up and saw a small man in a green and purple jester's outfit dancing what appeared to be a jig in mid air. Cackling again, he tossed one of the many water balloons he was holding at the amassed first years. Laughing openly at the sputtering sound a girl near the front was making as she tried to fix her exceedingly bushy hair, he tossed the remainder of his balloons and called out to them.

"Oooh, firsties! Old Peevsies going to have fun this year, he is!" Swooping down at them, causing those in his wake to shriek, he gave one final cackle before disappearing through a wall, presumably to harass someone else. Trying to regain control of the situation Hagrid resumed shepherding the students through to the opposite doorway.

"Ah, was hopin' you all wouldn't hafta meet him so soon. Tha' was Peeves, 'Ogwarts' resident poltergeist. Don't worry, he's mostly harmless, just likes to cause trouble 'round th' school is all." He said as the last of the students entered the significantly smaller but still abundantly large chamber.

Checking over the students one last time to make sure they were all there he knocked on the far wall with one massive fist. To everyone's surprise, the wall opened up to reveal a normal sized door, and an old witch entered the room. She was dressed in flowing emerald robes and the top of her pointed hat only came up to Hagrid's chin. She had a pair of square spectacles on her nose and a stern expression, and when she spoke it was with a distinct Scottish accent.

"Thank you Hagrid." The stern looking woman said with a nod. Then once Hagrid had exited the room she turned to the students and continued.

"Good evening. I am Professor McGonagall. I am the Transfiguration professor and Head of House for Gryffindor, as well as Deputy Headmistress here at Hogwarts. In a few moments I will be leading you through this door and into the Great Hall. There you will be sorted into your respective Houses." She said this gesturing behind her to the door she had entered from.

"I don't believe I have to tell you, but even as first years you are expected to be on your best behavior and exemplify the dignity that Hogwarts is known for." With a final glance at the assembled first years, she turned and exited the way she had come in.

As soon as she left the students broke into excited chatter as seemed to be their way. Many students were discussing the sorting and Harry could hear several theories bouncing around.

"I hope we won't have to do any magic! I've read all my books and I can do a few spells already, but without time to truly practice I've no idea if it will be enough." The bushy haired girl who had been hit by Peeves' balloon was saying a few feet away.

Harry just snorted at that notion; the idea that the teachers would make them do magic before they had any classes was absolutely preposterous. But at the same time the idea filled him with a sort of nervous energy, if it came down to it, would he be able to perform? He could hear another boy, lanky with a head of thick red hair, claiming his brothers had told him they would have to wrestle a troll.

"Are you daft? Dumbledore wouldn't make us wrestle a troll. My mum said all we have to do is try on a hat and it'll sort us." A loud boy with an Irish accent shouted at the red headed boy, who was turning an impressive shade of red in a remarkable amount of time.

"Oi, a hat? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! How's a stupid hat supposed to sort us?" The red head shouted, quickly losing his temper.

"Well it's no dumber than saying we hafta wrestle a troll. Your brothers were having a laugh on ya."

The red headed boy opened his mouth to shout something back, probably an insult with the way the conversation was going, Harry thought, but he was interrupted by several screams. Looking up Harry saw what the commotion was about: several pearly white figures had just drifted through a wall. One of them, a squat man with a ruffle around his neck, seemed to be arguing with another whose head was wobbling sickeningly as two others watched.

"Why get so worked up, Sir Nicholas? They were just water balloons, after all, it's not like the first years were injured. Forgive and forget; that's what I always say."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost." The other ghost said shaking his head, causing it to wobble unsteadily.

A third ghost, this one female and wearing a long flowing gown, nodded in agreement while the fourth, whose ruffled shirt appeared to be stained in what Harry suspected was blood, just watched impassively.

Seemingly just noticing the students, the second ghost floated down to speak to them.

"Ah, you must be the first years Peeves was tormenting. I am terribly sorry about him, please don't think all us ghosts are like him. Oh, where are my manners? I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, but most of the students here call me Nearly-Headless Nick." The ghost said with a sniff, as if he disliked his nickname.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" The Irish boy from before questioned loudly.

The ghost gave a sad sort of look before tugging on his left ear, causing his head to flop off and dangle by a small tab of spectral skin and muscle. He waited while several students gasped before tugging his head back into place and continuing.

"I am the house ghost for Gryffindor; I hope to see many of you there. The Friar here is the house ghost of Hufflepuff, the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, and the Baron here is the ghost of Slytherin." He said, gesturing to the assembled ghosts, who smile and waved, or in the Baron's case gazed indifferently, at the amassed students.

With that they flew back through the wall, Nick and the Friar continuing their conversation about Peeves, and leaving the students alone until McGonagall reentered the room.

Entering the chamber she took one glance around before giving the students instructions.

"Please form a single file line by order of height. Once we proceed through this door you will be in the Hogwarts Great Hall. You will then be sorted and move to sit at your House's table." She paused to look over the students, now formed into a line. She continued in a tone that could almost be described as fond, "Remember, no matter what House you are sorted into, we are very happy to have you here at Hogwarts."

0o0o0o0

After they had entered the great hall Hagrid had brought an old three legged stool and a raggedy old wizard hat and placed them in the middle of the floor in front of the student tables. Harry's amusement at the red head being wrong was quickly replaced by shock as a tear near the brim of the hat opened up like a mouth and it burst out in a song about the school's founders. He appeared not to be the only one amazed; Harry could see Draco Malfoy watching the hat with rapt attention, and the boy behind him whispered 'blimey' as it finished its song.

He had learned the names of several of the students during the sorting ceremony. Well, he had learned them all, but only a few stuck with him. The red head, he learned, was Ronald Weasley, evidently the younger brother of the curse breaker from the museum. The Irish boy was Seamus something or other, and the bushy haired girl that had been bombarded by Peeves was Hermione Granger. They had all been sorted into Gryffindor, leading Harry to hope not to be sorted into that house despite what Tonks may want for herself.

The ceremony also led Harry to wonder how they were being called up to be sorted. McGonagall was reading names off of a scroll and when their name was called they were to sit on the stool and wear the hat, but so far they had not been going in order of the line they had formed, with people jumping out of the middle and back when they heard their names. They also didn't appear to be going in any form of alphabetical order, with Weasley coming before Granger, and Granger coming before Macmillan, who was now a Hufflepuff. Harry eventually shook his head and figured McGonagall must be picking names at random or something, possibly to make sure they were paying attention, and resolved to simply watch and wait for his name to be called.

"O'Leary, Dennis" McGonagall read from her list, and a small nervous boy near the front of the line scampered up to the stool. When he put the ancient hat on his head it came nearly down to his chin. He sat there for near five minutes before the hat bellowed, as it had done many times that evening, 'HUFFLEPUFF!' The boy ripped the hat from his head, seemingly glad the ordeal was over, and handed it to the stern Scottish witch before making his way quickly to a long table along the far wall. The house tables were set up in rows, with Slytherin on the left, then Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff on the right. This was if you had entered from the entrance hall and were facing the staff table.

As he waited for his name to be called, Harry marveled at the great hall. There were the four house tables, piled with dishes and plates and goblets, but so far devoid of any food. Harry wasn't sure how Hogwarts got its food, but he was sure it could be easily explained as magic. A cry of 'GRYFFINDOR' from the hat as an Indian girl, Patil he believed the name had been, was sorted. Harry looked around at the hundreds of candles floating above the tables as McGonagall called for another Patil to be sorted. He was marveling at the ceiling, which showed the night sky, complete with rolling clouds and a brilliantly shining moon when this Patil was sent off to Ravenclaw.

"Tonks, Nymphadora" Was called and Harry stopped looking around the large hall he was in to pay attention to her sorting. Several people throughout the hall snickered at her name as Tonks walked to the hat, her hair flickering between colors as she went, a sign Harry had come to associate with her being nervous. Now sporting a brilliant red mane that could rival the Weasleys, Tonks sat on the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on her head. From his position Harry could see her having what appeared to be an argument with the hat, an argument which lasted several minutes before the hat called out that she was to be a "RAVENCLAW!" Looking pleased but still slightly disappointed, Tonks handed the professor the hat and went to sit at the Ravenclaw table.

"Potter, Harry" McGonagall read calmly, provoking a fury of whispers and necks craning to get a glimpse of the Boy Who Lived. Swallowing a lump in his throat Harry made his way to the front of the room amid a series of whispers about how "He's here!" and "It's really him!" Feeling more nervous by the second Harry sat on the stool, which was far sturdier than he had anticipated, and placed the ancient and well-worn had on his head.

The second the hat covered his eyes the dull noise of the hall was drowned out, replaced by his pulse thudding in his ears. Harry sat like that for several seconds wondering what was supposed to happen. Everyone else had seemed to have at least some interaction with the hat before it declared their house, had he done something wrong? Just as he was on the verge of panic did something happen.

"Not at all what I had expected, Mr. Potter. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong." A voice spoke, not quite in his ear, but more in his head. "Yes, you are much more challenging that I had anticipated. Your mother and father were easy, perfect examples of what Gryffindor portrays, although your mother would have made a fine Ravenclaw too. You, however, are not so simple. You have the determination and sense of honor that would easily mark you for Gryffindor, but there is a cunning wit that Slytherin demands. You easily have the lust for knowledge that would an excellent Ravenclaw make, but there is also a fierce loyalty that Helga would be proud of. The only question is which one runs deepest? Any thoughts on the matter, hmm?" The hat said, and based on what it had picked from his mind Harry suspected the last remark had been its idea of a joke.

"Well, you don't have the desire for the spotlight that Gryffindors so typically do, and there is also an impulse to do what pleases you. Yes, I think I have it now." The hat said in what could be a smug tone. "Mister Potter, I do believe that you'll go far in SLYTHERIN!" The hat bellowed the last word and the hall erupted into the cheers that he had come to associate with a student being sorted.

Gently lifting the hat off his head, Harry handed it to his transfiguration professor and made his way to the Slytherin table. As he walked he caught a few disappointed looks from older students, obviously wishing they had gotten the Boy Who Lived in their house, and even an apprehensive one from a certain red headed Gryffindor first year. As he sat down at the Slytherin table Harry already felt that he wasn't going to particularly like that particular Weasley.

"Brilliant, Saint Potter in Slytherin. Just what this house needs, mud bloods bringing it down to the level of Gryffindor." A sarcastic drawl said from a few seats away. Harry turned and groaned as he saw Draco Malfoy sitting next to his two bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry figured he must have missed him being sorted while he was examining the ceiling. Opening his mouth to retort, Harry was cut off by an older student.

"Shut yer gob, Malfoy. You're a first year too; you don't have any more say than Potter does." The older student said. "I don't care who your father is. You don't know my family name, so don't make empty threats." He said as Malfoy began to mutter about his 'father hearing about this' and the hat proclaimed another student was fit for Hufflepuff. Turning to Harry the older student nodded in greeting. "Welcome to Slytherin, Potter. The names Daniels, I'm one of the prefects for Slytherin. We'll explain the rules of the house once the feast is over."

Harry nodded in acceptance and thanks as he watched Malfoy fume over being regarded so lowly. Wondering what Daniels had meant about the rules of the house, Harry turned his attention back to the sorting in time to see a black boy, Thompson or something, get sorted into Gryffindor. As Thompson took his place at the Gryffindor table McGonagall called for one Zabini, Blaise to put on the hat.

Harry watched Blaise stroll confidently towards the stool and sit down, plopping the hat on his head. Harry thought he looked almost bored with it, as if he knew exactly what would happen, and after seeing so many people be sorted, there were only three more after him, he may very well have known how things would play out. It seemed like the hat had only been on his head for an instant before the hat gave out an all-mighty roar of 'SLYTHERIN' and Blaise made his way over to the table amid a raucous cheer. Taking a seat next to Harry he smirked.

"I told you, the Zabinis have been in Slytherin for generations. I don't plan on being the one to break our neutrality, and I didn't plan on being sorted into any other house."

Harry laughed and nodded in agreement as Daniels gave Blaise the same semi-warm welcome he had given Harry, although lacking the part where he put Draco Malfoy in his place. As they were talking the last students were sorted, ending with a Parkinson, Pansy being sorted into Slytherin and seating herself next to Malfoy, displacing Goyle, who appeared confused at the turn of events. With the last of the students sorted McGonagall pulled a wand out of her sleeve and vanished the stool and Sorting Hat before taking a seat at the staff table to the right of Dumbledore. As this was taking place the students began to talk, older students welcoming the first years and generally socializing.

The talking stopped as Dumbledore stood from his seat and looked around the hall with a smile and a twinkle behind his half moon spectacles. With a last glance at the assembled student body Dumbledore spoke.

"To those of you who were just sorted, welcome to Hogwarts, and to those of you who were not, welcome back. I speak for myself and the rest of our staff when I say we are pleased to have you here. Now, there is a time for speeches, but now is not it. Enjoy!" With those words he clapped his hands and a buffet of foods appeared on the silver platters before them, jugs of water and pumpkin juice appearing interspersed with roast turkeys and pot roasts. Harry simply smiled at the aged wizard and at his new friend before spooning himself some potatoes.

As they ate, the students talked amongst themselves, the older students catching up with friends and inquiring about summer breaks. As he was chewing a bite of shepherd's pie Harry overheard two seventh years discussing one of the teachers.

"Huh, looks like Quirrell's gone. Job must've finally gotten to be too much for him."

"Yeah, I wonder where Dumbledore got this new guy though; he looks like he can handle it."

Interest peaked, Harry took a swallow of something Blaise had called sweetwater, but reminded Harry distinctly of citrus cola, and joined their conversation. "Excuse me, but who are you talking about?" He asked one of the students, an Asian girl with piercing turquoise eyes and auburn hair cut short in a bob.

She eyed him critically, as if measuring him up before finally responding. "Quirrell, he was the old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. But he was rubbish, had a terrible stutter. It took him forever to get anything out, I'm sure most of the students will be glad to see him go, at least the ones who intend to pass their exams will be."

Her friend, a broad shouldered boy who was built like a truck laughed before responding.

"Yeah, and it looks like Dumbledore decided to find someone worthwhile to take over, and Snape doesn't look too happy about it." Harry looked where the boy was gesturing and saw a surly man with a large nose and a curtain of oily black hair openly glaring at a man a few seats down. The man he was glaring at had a face that could almost be described as regal, were it not for a large jagged scar running over one eye. He appeared to be in his thirties and his hair was black but graying and pulled back in a tight ponytail.

"Anyway, I'm Mikhail Lutvig; I'm one of Slytherin's beaters. This is my girlfriend, Amber Sumiko." The muscular boy said, gesturing to the girl. "We already know you, of course. It's good to have you in Slytherin, just watch out. Some of the others might be, let's say predisposed to dislike you. Especially some of the first years who don't know how things work yet."

Amber nodded at this. "Yeah, we get a lot of students every year that think being in Slytherin makes them big shots, or their family name counts for something. We'll be having a little chat after the feast is over to correct them." She said with a predatory smile.

Harry nodded, feeling strangely comforted that these two seemed not to hate him right off the bat. Looking back at his food he realized that the rest of the dishes were now piled with desserts. Quickly finishing his dinner he grabbed himself a piece of treacle tart and some more sweetwater. As the students were finishing their dinners and desserts, Dumbledore again rose from his chair and addressed the assembly.

"Ah, I always feel that I'm more willing to listen to others speak when I am full than when I am hungry. So now that our bellies are all full, I would like to again welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Our caretaker Mr. Filch would like me to inform you that the list of banned items has been expanded to include Fanged Frisbees, Exploding Jacks, and in his words, 'Anything those Weasleys come up with'. I would also like to inform our new students as well as remind a few of our older ones that the Forbidden Forest on the outskirts of the grounds is, as the name implies, Forbidden." Dumbledore made these two statements with a look at a pair of red heads seated on either side of the pearlescent form of Nearly-Headless Nick. Harry figured this meant they were related to Ron and Bill.

"Now, I would like to introduce the newest member of our staff, taking over for Professor Quirrell, who retired to enjoy the rest of his life somewhere far away from the dark creatures he has been working with all these years." Dumbledore turned and gestured for the scarred teacher to stand. "Please give a warm welcome to Professor Grimaldi, coming to us all the way from Rome."

The students gave a polite clap as the man bowed his head and looked around the room before sitting back down, surprising Dumbledore who had intended for him to say a few words. Regaining his composure so quickly nobody noticed, Dumbledore continued.

"Finally, and I say with the greatest sincerity, the corridor on the third floor is strictly forbidden to anyone who does not wish to meet an early and very painful death. Now, I hate to leave you with such grim words so here are a few more: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak. Off to bed!"

One by one the students stood, some, such as Ron Weasley, amused at Dumbledore's seemingly eccentric closing remarks. Some, such as Tonks, confused and disturbed by what he had said before. Harry was in the same position as Tonks, wondering why Dumbledore would forbid the third floor corridor, and wondering why he would put something so dangerous in the school at all. As they stood the prefect from before, Daniels, gestured for Harry and Blaise to follow him.

"First years over here, follow me. Don't wander off; if you do we will not be coming to look for you. Follow me; the common room is this way." Daniels called, joined by a girl, presumably another prefect.

They led as the first years followed them out of the great hall and through a series of hallways and corridors before coming to a dead end with a carving of a gorgon on the wall. As they approached the carved gorgon, she moved, turning to face them and revealing her stone eyes were carved to appear stitched shut.

"Password?" The stone gorgon asked in a raspy voice.

"Sainthood." The female prefect replied in a calm voice as the first years watched.

The gorgon nodded and walked off to the side, the wall sliding open in her wake. The prefects led them through the doorway that had opened up in the wall and into the Slytherin common room.

The common room was a large circular room lit with a fireplace set into one wall. There were several high-backed chairs made out of a dark wood set around tables and a few comfortable-yet-exquisite looking couches placed around the fireplace. There were many full bookshelves around the room, and the majority of the dim lighting came from glowjellies in jars placed high on shelves on the walls.

The most extraordinary feature, however, was the far wall, or rather, where the far wall should have been. In the place of the normal stonework that made up the rest of the dungeons there was a large glass window with a murky view of what Harry assumed was the lake.

As the first years crowded into the common room the prefects and a few students Harry assumed were seventh years amassed in front of them. Harry spotted the couple he had spoken to at the welcoming feast, Mikhail and Amber, among them. Amber, curiously, was positioned in front of the rest of the seventh years, situated in between the two prefects. As the last of the first years moved to where they could see the older students, Amber began to speak.

"Who can tell me what Slytherin embodies?" She began.

"Blood." A voice spoke from the rear of the room.

"Wrong." Amber said. "Slytherin is the house of the ambitious and the cunning. Slytherin is not evil or dark or whatever you want to call it. The only reason for that reputation is ignorance, primarily the ignorance of the Gryffindors. Remember this, the rest of the school despise us. I don't care how you feel about each other, but any issues you have will be handled in private, **not** in front of the rest of the school."

She stopped talking for a moment and looked over the assembled first years. As her gaze swept over each of them it seemed as if she were measuring them up, judging their potential.

"I am the Head Girl this year, if any of you bring shame upon this house I will deal with you myself. Welcome to Slytherin, great things are expected of you. Do not disappoint."

* * *

**A/N:** This might be my favorite chapter so far, possibly because we're finally at Hogwarts. I plan on portraying a different Slytherin that the stereotypical evil!slytherin I'm so used to seeing, by the way.

Like it? Review. Hate it? Review. Think I'm a horrible writer? Review, but don't flame.


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